Sindh Home Minister Sohail Anwar Sial suspended seven station house officers (SHOs) of the provincial police in Karachi over their alleged failure to control street crime and misbehaviour with complainants on Wednesday.

Sial's move comes a day after robbers stormed a private microfinance bank in the old city's Kharadar area, looting over half a million rupees in what is reportedly the sixth heist in Karachi this year. The police today said nine suspects had been arrested.

Sial announced the police suspensions during a meeting reviewing Karachi's law and order situation.

During the meeting, he expressed concern over rising street crime in the city, and complaints reported against SHOs, as well as the behaviour of police station staff towards citizens, the home ministry's official spokesperson said.

The review meeting today was attended by Additional Inspector General (AIG) Sindh, AIG Karachi and other police officials. Sial warned police officials to improve their performance or face strict action

"One SHO from each district of Karachi is being suspended initially," and this process will continue based on performance evaluations every three months, Sial cautioned.

"This mechanism shall be implemented throughout the province", he said.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, the home minister said that the AIG Special Branch has been assigned the task of providing quarterly reports about the performance of police station staffers, whereas the AIG Crimes will submit police station performance reports "with special reference to action against organised crimes".

Police today claimed to have arrested nine people ─ including three women ─ suspected of involvement in the robbery.

Senior Superintendent Police City Adeel Hussain Chandio told reporters at a press conference that the robbers managed to loot the bank with the help of insiders.

"Three staff members of the bank orchestrated the robbery to conceal misappropriations worth over Rs10 million," he revealed.

Three employees of the bank, including a woman, had stolen cash and gold ornaments worth over Rs10m from the bank, Chandio said.

Providing details about the heist, Chandio said that at around 8:35am on Tuesday, three robbers entered the bank, stealing Rs678,724 in cash, gold ornaments, four mobile phones, a security guard's pistol, and the bank's digital video recording system.

Subsequently, Deputy Inspector General South Azad Khan set up a joint team which arrested the nine suspects involved and recovered the looted cash and other valuables from their possession.

SSP Chandio said the police arrested the bank's operations manager identified as Habib who, during interrogation, told authorities that he, along with the bank's assistant cashier, Mushtaq, and a micro-credit officer, Saima, had allegedly stolen cash and gold ornaments from the bank on multiple occasions.

The held suspect told investigators that since the bank's head office began an audit of the branch, they were fearful of the consequences of their actions. To avoid discovery, Saima and two accomplices, Hawa and Rozina, allegedly planned a bank robbery, according to Habib.

Later Hawa and Rozina spoke to another suspect, Rizwan Irshad, who along with his other accomplices, Abdul Karim, Sultan and Naqash, committed the robbery, Chandio quoted Habib as saying.

The SSP said that the joint team, with the technical assistance of SIU police, arrested all suspects involved in the robbery.

Besides the half a dozen bank heists, a money changer had been robbed in the Boat Basin area in which the security firm owner was arrested on abetment charges in April. His two guards were found involved in the robbery, which was the biggest heist in the city this year.

The number of bank heists in the metropolis has dropped significantly in the past two years mainly due to proactive policing and ongoing Rangers-led operations, but the off-and-on strikes by bandits remain a challenge for the investigators.

In 2015, five bank branches were looted, 24 in 2014, while 28 banks met the same fate in 2013, 23 in 2012, 19 in 2011, 20 in 2010 and less than 20 in 2009.

On DawnNews

Comments (20) Closed

logicaldue

Aug 02, 2017 06:29pm

Like this is really going to make dent in the crime in Karachi or Sindh. The whole police force needs to be suspended. Is this a political matter? Shouldn't the relevant IG, AIG be making this announcement. Stay under lockdown Karachi nothing is changing anytime soon.

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Sheraz

Aug 02, 2017 06:31pm

Looks like street crime is the only crime in Sindh. He is just fooling people and giving a false impression of robust police system in Sindh. The whole Pakistan knows that Sindh police is completely politicized which is evident from provincial government attitude towards honest IGP sindh.

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ART

Aug 02, 2017 06:37pm

Awesome, if they can't make people feel safe then they deserve to be suspended.

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SAB

Aug 02, 2017 06:40pm

This man is behaving like SSP for whole Karachi, directly controlling SHOs, he will ruin whole police force....

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Statistician

Aug 02, 2017 06:40pm

Finally some effort to hold the police accountable

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Shahnaz

Aug 02, 2017 06:44pm

Please suspend sub-inspector Akhtar sial also he become headache for the people of Gulshan e maymar as the way he behaves with citizen is awful. And he is the one who detent citizens without any FIR and keep them in police station behind the bar to put pressure on them to get money what he demands.

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GHULAM IDREES BANGASH

Aug 02, 2017 07:05pm

this is positive step ,appreciated to bring check and balance

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my Comments

Aug 02, 2017 07:27pm

Very good step. All SHO's must pay attention to what is going on in the community. Police men are paid to serve and protect the people from criminals.

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ali ahmed

Aug 02, 2017 08:22pm

how many local SHO in karachi police?

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ali ahmed

Aug 02, 2017 08:25pm

@Sheraz May be you are not from Karachi...Karachitte knows street crimes are increasing recently police in civil were caught involved in street crimes

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Rauf shaikh

Aug 02, 2017 09:30pm

@logicaldue right

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Rauf shaikh

Aug 02, 2017 09:30pm

@Sheraz right

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Ahsan gul

Aug 02, 2017 09:53pm

Good move. If SHO are not doing effectively their job but getting paid then they must be separated from services.

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OZ

Aug 02, 2017 10:31pm

@ali ahmed; very good question. this is the main cause of the problem. Karachi is the largest city in the country but they can't find locals, Urdu speaking people to be recruited in police or any other Govt. institute.

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Dabang

Aug 03, 2017 12:56am

Mr Sial must be jacking the rates up of Police stati ons to cover his own extra personal expenses.

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alba

Aug 03, 2017 01:07am

MQM and the PPP were the ones who corrupted the police.

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Sameer

Aug 03, 2017 01:30am

@Statistician actually this is the perfect cover to remove SHOS with spine against political pressure. Now they will easily put their own men.

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Shahnaz

Aug 03, 2017 01:37am

@OZ yes they should hire people who belongs from karachi itself in police force but instead of hiring locals in the force they bring outsider to the city .. who unfortunately even don't know how to speak and those police men some time behaves very badly and causing problems between the local residents and the police. . And they even don't know the city's environment so to serve the city in a good way the authorities need to bring Inn the local educated people in force.
Thanks and no offence to anyone.

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Amer Rao

Aug 03, 2017 02:16am

Poor SHOs, Government is joking with public. No vision for Awam.

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naveed

Aug 03, 2017 11:34am

Give powers back to the Rangers, with arresting and charging authority as Sindh Police has failed in providing public safety.